Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Review - - Deadly Little Lies

Back outside, he changed his walk, his very persona, and joined his beloved at the Boston Children's Museum.

"Caroline," he breathed her name, spotting her lovely face in the crowd. She saw him as well, and her smile was joyful.

Later, he would get her advice on the matter of killing Dav Gianikopolis.

Davros Gianikopolis is rich, successful, honorable, a loyal friend and about to go on his first date with the woman who, unknowingly, captured his heart many years ago. Married at the time, Carrie was off limits so Dav settled for friendship with the lovely gallery owner but now the circumstances have changed. A widow, Carrie is finally ready to move on with her life and Dav is hoping to have a place in that life but he's starting slowly by inviting her to lunch. That plan gets blown to smithereens - literally - when an unknown enemy kidnaps the couple from the restaurant and throws them into a "winner take all" fight for their lives.

Taken to the jungles of Belize, Dav is forced to face his worst fear, deeply rooted in an abusive childhood. Clearly, whoever is behind his abduction knows him well. As his best friend and former security chief, Gates Bromley and his team race to find them before time runs out, Dav and Carrie grow ever closer as they work together to outwit their captors even as they struggle to stay alive. Will they survive long enough to find joy in the love that they are slowly realizing resides in their hearts or will they be lost forever in the labyrinth of their jungle prison?

Back in 2009, when I reviewed Adams' second book, Dark and Deadly, I wrote, "Jeanne Adams is a rising star in romantic suspense who, with her second release, has secured a solid spot on my auto-buy list." Now, with four books to her credit, Adams has become one of my "go to" romantic suspense authors. With twists and turns aplenty, her stories always take me on a thrilling ride while giving me characters I'd like to know and romance that warms my heart. Deadly Little Lies was so riveting that I read straight through dinner and into the night until I finally reached the end. I don't know if Adams has ever ventured down into the type of "prison" where Dav and Carrie are held captive but it's so realistically drawn that my heart raced and I began to sweat as I lived through the fear they faced right along with them. There was no way I could have stopped reading until I knew the outcome.

There's a bit of role reversal in this book, which I liked, when Dav; this proud, successful Greek man admits his fears to Carrie and again, when circumstances require Carrie to dig deep within to tap the courage necessary to be strong for both of them. They are both characters I like and admire and I enjoyed coming to know them more completely. Adams surrounds them with a first-rate cast of secondary characters, including familiar faces from Deadly Little Secrets, more than one villain that will keep the reader guessing and an unusual "guardian angel" in the form of a gun-for-hire gone legit...sort of.

While Deadly Little Lies stands well on its own, for a richer reading experience and a more complete understanding of Dav and Carrie, as well as many of the secondary characters, I highly recommend reading Deadly Little Secrets first. As for me, I've already dusted off a space on my keeper shelf for the newest thrilling story from the superbly talented Jeanne Adams.

FTC DISCLAIMER

While we purchase some of the books that we review at this site, the majority of the reviews posted are of books that we have received free from authors or publishers. For purposes of FTC disclosure, visitors to our site should assume that review books have been provided to us at no cost.

Contact Us

We will accept galleys, advance reader copies and books for review consideration. Please contact us at theromancedish@gmail.com for mailing instructions.

We welcome your comments and questions. Please email us at theromancedish@gmail.com.